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2012-09-07 - New World Order: The Stark Truth About Politics
Pepper Potts comes into the office. "Tony? Your 4 o'clock is here." She pauses, then adds, "President Ross." In case Tony forgot. Or wasnt paying attention. Or something. She walks over to the desk and leans over. "And not to sound like a stereotypical uninformed voter, but the guy is very easy on the eyes. Not that that would be the sole reason I'm voting for him, but... doesn't hurt." She smiles a bit. "I'll go let him know he can come in okay?" Stark is doing something on his Starkpad, or at least pretending to. He is really wirelessly reviewing all the security footage since it was back up at the Avengers Mansion upon his return from the Labyrinth. He hrms as Pepper comes in, sounding distracted. "Oh, he's married with children," he informs Pepper. Did he just crush her dreams? Most likely not. He doesn't look like he touched his coffee and it looks long cold and a little...stiff. Right, Stark hasn't been himself all day. But he forces himself to put the Starkpad down and slow his review of footage to concentrate more on what is happening in the real world. "Right, meeting. I remember." He smiles. Like hell he did, he was busy with some project that he isn't talking about. Pepper Potts leans over to look at the StarkPad screen, and while she's at it, does a quick change on his desktop so it's not featuring the Swedish Bikini Team. "Okay. And now I'll just go let the President of the United States in." She heads out of the office and comes back in with a very good looking, in a 'farmboy makes good' sort of way, blond haired, blue eyed man in a nice suit. Another woman, around Pepper's height and looking around Pepper's age (no one tell that she's several years older!), with short blonde hair comes in as well. There are also two Secret Service men who stand watch at the door. "Mr. Stark, President Ross." Pete Ross smiles and says, "You can call me Pete, actually. It's very nice to meet you." he says, offering a handshake. He then introduces the woman next to him. "This is my good friend and running mate, Chloe Sullivan." Stark snorts at the desktop change. He does it only to annoy Pepper anyway. But then he is soon raising from his chair as Pete comes in. Stark grins widely, "Pete, it's a pleasure!" He walks around the desk to meet the President and shake hands with him. "Usually it's Captain America meeting presidents, not me," he says with quirky humor. He then nods toward Chloe, "A pleasure Miss Sullivan. I must say, Pete has great taste in women. Not only is his wife beautiful and intelligent, but so is his running mate. I've read some of your articles, they are good work." How can he sound like such a moron, but so smooth at the same time? It must be a Stark thing. Pete smiles. "I'm actually going to see about meeting the Captain later as well, but I could use all the help possible to keep this country going on the right path after the last administration. Especially considering who I'm running against. Running as an independent isn't exactly commonplace. And I'll be sure to pass the compliment to Lana." Chloe shakes Tony's hand back, as she says with a bit of a smile. "A lot of people tend to say they're more worthy of the tabloids." Pete asks, "So... Mr. Stark. Can I call you Tony?" "If you can win Captain America's support, you will win a lot of people in America," Stark says seriously. "And of course! Whatever you two are comfortable with, Tony, Stark, or Mr. Stark. I rarely ask to be addressed a specific way." Stark then grins wickedly at Chloe's words about other people's review of her work. "Politics in tabloids? When hell freezes over. But let's just say, I'm glad you didn't decide to write society columns in my wilder days." He winks playfully. Stark then motions toward the comfortable chairs resting inf ront of his desk. "Please, have a seat." And Stark actually moves to take one of the chairs in front of his desk to be closer to the two of you, rather than behind his desk. He lefts one leg, crossing his ankle over his knee as he leans back into the chair in a lazy manner with elbows resting on the chair arms. Chloe says, "Well hopefully I'll be having a job over the next four years to keep me from going back to being a newshound." she says with a grin. Pepper offers, "How about I show Ms. Sullivan around the building while you and the President discuss... you know.... politics." She then turns to Chloe and offers, "After you?" Chloe responds with a "I'd love to." And the two women head out, along with one of the secret service agents. The other one stays by the door, all .... stiff and 'stand-y.' Pete sits down and leans over a bit. "Me and Chloe have been friends since high school. I'm lucky to have a friend that I can work so closely with. Plus she's smart as a whip." He then pats the arm of the chair. "So... From the discussions my aides had with Pepper, I hear that we might be on the same side in this election. Seems like there's going to be a rather extreme difference in the parties come voting day. Given what's happened with the recent invasion, this 'merging of the universes...'" He pauses. "This 'Senator Kelly' - I have to admit, he worries me far more than Suarez. I've already gotten the backing of several leaders of industry. Wayne Enterprises, probably Starrware, Holt Industries, Meersman of STAR Labs International. I'm hoping I can count on Stark Enterprises' support as well?" "Ugh, Pepper is plotting something," Stark says suspiciously. But then Pete distracts him. "Small town thing?" That is what Stark things when Pete mentions being friends with Chloe since high school. He hrms at the rest of the information however. "It depends. Stark Enterprises does not support war, though we do support self-defense. I am also the primary funder for the Avengers non-profit organization, and work on their tech and perform research for them free of charge. I believe heroes should work with police and the police work well with the heroes. It is not exactly a secret that the Avengers have a positive relationship with the U.N. organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. We try to work within the boundaries of the law to support society, not tear it down as Senator Kelly aims to do with his anti-civil rights nuts platform." Pete nods. "My people have filled me in on all sorts of new businesses in our shared world. And I think we have common beliefs in that respect. War's always a last option, but a powerful defense is necessary. It's one of the reasons you were one of the first of the people I wanted to meet in this shared world of ours from the... er... other side, so to speak. You're a realist who looks towards the future, you believe in government and heroes working together, not as adversaries. So do I." "What I believe should be, doesn't make it reality. But I suppose you aiming to make that dream into reality." Stark is watchful, thoughtful. The playfulness he displayed earlier fading. This is likely the more 'real' Tony Stark, the one that the public doesn't get to see. "Considering how the U.S. Government is trying to rip itself apart with anti-mutants, anti-meta-humans, anti-heroes...that is going to be one hell of a job to accomplish." Pete Ross nods a bit. "Well... I got into politics to change things. To -make- dreams into reality. And I have to tell you, this anti-mutant fervor - it worries me. This country is founded on a diversity of people with different skills, abilities, knowledges. I've always felt very strongly about that." He pauses. "Originally, I wasnt planning on running for President - but after this merge... and the hate mongering I've been seeing. I like heroes. They give us something to strive for. Metahuman, alien, mutant... your own Iron Man bodyguard's done a whole lot of good from what I've been told, as well as the Avengers. I had a good long talk with my wife and we agreed, it would be wrong for me to just stand by and let someone like Kelly tear our nation apart with fear and bigotry. Like Edmund Burke said, Evil prevails when good men do nothing." Ross isnt really a typical politician when he says stuff like that. It tends to come across that he really means what he's saying, rather than just playing to his audience. Stark actually blinks, "You confuse me. You really are like no politician I've ever met." And Ross so isn't by a million leagues! But he gets Tony really thinking. Can Ross be trusted? With the possibility of the Skrull...can he be trusted? Stark wishes he knew for sure. "There was a time, when I turned to see a friend, and instead there stood an enemy. We never know for sure what someone is beneath the image they display to the world until it comes down to the final moment of choice and action. Each decision we make to trust someone, to support someone, or just to reach our hand out hoping there isn't a dagger is a leap of blind faith." Stark looks directly into Ross's eyes. "You say what I want to hear, what I need to hear." Stark lowers his ankle from his knee and moves to lean forward. He offers a hand toward Ross. "I'll expect to see some actual plans to achieve those dreams Pete. You give me some proof that you are really working toward a better future, the future that /should/ be, and you work toward that...," a brief pause for dramatic effect, "...and I'll ride the waves of hell at your side. Everyday is a battle in a great war: to keep this company my ideal, to keep the Avengers going, to keep my sanity even. But even if you win a battle, you can't win the war without good allies at your back." And this is something Ross will likely never really see in public. The /real/ Tony Stark. Pete shakes Stark's hand firmly, leaning forward as well. "You're preaching to the choir, Stark. Hopefully, my record and the people backing me carries some weight in your eyes. It would be a privilege to have you as an ally in this fight." He takes a breath. "And believe me.... this election is going to be a fight. I have no doubt that Kelly's supporters are not going to play a fair fight. When they can't find dirt on me, it might get ugly. Especially considering his backers. Those.... Friends of Humanity. What a misnomer. And I suspect LexCorp probably is going to be heavily fundraising for them under the tables." "I haven't heard anything good on LexCorp other than it employees most of Metropolis. Rumors of underhanded deals to increase its growth, and questionable projects. Though its profit records have skyrocketed since Mercy Graves took over as CEO and its former CEO Lex Luthor is still missing after escaping prison. Considering his track record, I had to see it to believe it from the videos on how good of a sweet talker he was. Even then, I still can't believe they voted him into office," and Stark shakes his head. "In either case, I rather support independents that actually give a shit, then a known party that either wants to kill the world, or is a true politician. Not that the Democrats seem to have a bad guy, he's just a politician." Not a high opinion of politicians, huh? That means you made a really good impression on him. "So do me a favor. Do what you have to, to win, but keep your promises." Stark then moves to stand and walks around his desk. Stark starts going through some things in his desk, "I know I got a spare around here somewhere...," and he pulls it out! It looks like a pair of cuff links. Expensive looking ones too, gold. He walks over to you and holds them out, "These are linked to the Avengers." He shows you where to active them, either one will work, "It activates an emergency beacon that will alert Iron Man. Your secret service is damn good at their job, but if things get out of hand, ask for help." Pete peers at Tony, then smiles. "I appreciate that. Like you said - allies." he says, then accepts the cufflink beacons. "With any luck, I won't ever need to use it." He stands up, putting the cufflinks in his pocket. Changing the subject, he says, "I'll do what I have to do, but I'm not going to sink down to Kelly's level. The people need a clear choice." And that right there, revealed to Stark the type of man Pete is. A Skrull pretending to be Pete? He can't see it. Stark actually smiles. "Should we go save Chloe from Pepper, or Pepper from whatever michief she is up to?" Pete chuckles a bit. "Or vice versa." He pats Tony on the back as they head out to find their female professional 'better halves.'